CELESTIAL SEASON is a doom metal band from the Netherlands that formed way back in 1991. At some point in their career they switched to a more stoner doom/metal vibe before releasing what was their last full length in 2000. Flash forward twenty years and the band returns with a new album that also sees the return of their death/doom style. This new album, "The Secret Teachings," is their six full length album. They also have numerous demos and EPs.

Honestly, I have never heard of the band before but I came across the first track of the new album "The Secret Teachings Of All Ages," on youtube. I instantly loved it and found out Metal Temple actually had the promo for review. I jumped at the chance to grab it and I can safely say I'm not disappointed in the slightest. The vibe, down to the sound and very production, is old school vintage doom.  This album just has this sort of classic feel to it-it sounds amazing yet rustic but modern enough to be enjoyed with both clarity and edge.

Another interesting aspect is the music within the album's one hour and three minute run time isn't overly aggressive like most other death doom.  Don't take that the wrong way-this is definitely a heavy album and is doom metal through and through.  However, it plays out as one big, constant and fluid motion-this keeps the length of the album from being a problem and also adds multiple dimensions to the band's sound.  Classical thinking and Gothic textures go hand in hand with CELESTIAL SEASON's brand of doom.

The opening track, "The Secret Teachings Of All Ages," begins with that classical approach.  Cello, violin, and piano/clean keys create a very moving piece that really pulls on the heart strings.  The guitars are emotional in their own right, the doom riffs playing their own serenade to melancholy.  The death growls are very gruff and spot on-evil sounding but intelligible enough to not take away from the seriousness of the musical moments.

"For Twisted Loveless," is just three minutes or so long but it contains the same amount of depth as the opening track with all the same elements coming together to tell another potent story.  I appreciate the band doesn't feel like every song has to be long-each one is just as long or as short as it needs to be.  The guitar solo is short but well done-a combination of more classic rock sounds and a bit of psychedelic tendencies.

The minute and a half "Dolores," and seven minute "Long Forlorn Tears," makes potent mini-epic that is as sorrowful as it is thick with dense, sinister riffs.  These two songs are a sterling example of how well the band combines lighter, more nuanced moments with straight up deadly doom.  "Long Forlorn Tears," picks up the pace about half way through with subtle yet melodic guitar lead that grows   with intensity alongside the riffs.  The last minute and a half or so is beautiful, sweeping violins and keys engaging themselves with the riffs and bass.

"They Saw It Come From The Sky," is another "short" song that packs a whole lot inside of it.  The guitars kind of hang back in the beginning and let the drums build up the momentum.  The bass and guitars quickly grow more and more groovy, almost a type of dizzying array of arrangements.  This mostly instrumental song gets rather strange about half way through with a lot of crazy noises from various instruments but it works surprisingly well. The riffs around the 2:15 mark are badass, as are the death growls and the crazy yet focused drumming behind it all.

"Lunar Child" is possibly the darkest and most intense song on the album-weighty riffs and deep growls lay a sinister hand over the song but it still has time for clever little melodic nooks and crannies such as the clean guitar around the 2:48 mark and the track's outro that fades out.  "Veil Of Silence," is a mostly instrumental song (there are a few lines of whispering vocals in it but I can't be sure of what it being said) that answers the question of "What if PINK FLOYD played doom metal?"  The answer? It would be just the coolest thing ever.

The last track is actually a TYPE O NEGATIVE cover of "Red Water," and the band knocks it out of the park-they put their own style on it but it still has an air of familiarity to it-even though it is much, much heavier. I feel like I've been missing out on something considering I just discovered this band but damn what an album to hear for the first time!  Heavy, dark, majestic, textured, layered...so many adjectives could be used to describe "The Secret Teachings," but really....you just need to know this is a must have album for doom fans.